konfer digital platform a priority for Science & Technology

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Published: Monday, 13 March 2017 17:07

Written by National Centre for Universities and Business

The National Centre for Universities and Business welcomes the recommendation by the House of Common Science and Technology Select Committee to support the continued development and adoption of konfer – our digital brokerage tool that makes it easier for a business to search, discover and connect with universities to take forward their ideas and innovations.

The Select Committee welcomed the development of konfer as a “straightforward way for businesses to identify potential academic collaborators” and called on the Government to work with the National Centre for Universities and Business and partners to publicise the konfer platform.

Stephen Metcalfe MP, Chair of the House of Commons Science and Technology Committee, said: “I welcome the emphasis on commercialising our first-class research in the Government’s Industrial Strategy Green Paper and the funding it has announced to incentivise universities to engage in technology transfer… Encouraging British business to invest more in UK R&D should be a key goal of the Government's Industrial Strategy”

David Docherty, Chief Executive of the National Centre for Universities and Business, said:“This is an important statement of intent and it really emphasises the importance of ongoing promotion of powerful digital platforms for university-business partnerships. We are only at the beginning of what we hope will be a transformational journey to make it easier not only for businesses to find academic collaborators but also for universities to find the right business partner to work with on their research”.

The National Centre for Universities and Business - Inspiring universities and business to work together for growth and prosperity. As a membership not-for-profit organisation, the National Centre brings together leaders from across higher education and business to tackle issues of shared interest.

It is developing a suite of digital platforms to make it easier for businesses and universities to connect together. konfer was created by the National Centre for Universities and Business (NCUB) to make the astonishing wealth of expertise and resources within our universities across the UK more accessible. Working in partnership with the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) and Research Councils UK (RCUK), konfer brings knowledge and growth to businesses, valuable exposure for university talent, and future prosperity for the UK.